Kissinger, Mitchell To Head 9/11 Investigation

November 28, 2002|By Dana Milbank and Walter Pincus The Washington Post and Information from The New York Times was used to supplement this report.

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell were named Wednesday to lead a high-profile commission probing the intelligence and security flaws that allowed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to succeed.

President Bush, signing legislation creating the 10-member, 18-month probe, named Kissinger its chairman and charged him to "follow all the facts, wherever they lead." Hours after Bush's naming of the Nixon and Ford-era diplomatic luminary, Democratic congressional leaders tapped Mitchell, a globetrotting peace negotiator, to be the panel's vice chairman.

The appointment of Kissinger, 79, ended months of wrangling with Congress over the commission's composition and scope. It was interpreted by legislators in both parties and by families of the Sept. 11 victims as evidence that the Bush administration had come to the view, as the president said Wednesday, that "we must uncover every detail and learn every lesson of September the 11th."

The White House had originally opposed such an independent commission, then sought to keep its focus away from intelligence matters. As recently as this month, as negotiations bogged down, the White House threatened to create a weaker commission by executive order. But Bush changed his position amid growing bipartisan support generated by lobbying by the victims' families for a commission supplementing the joint House-Senate intelligence committee investigation that is now ending.

"I have been given every assurance by the president that we should go where the facts lead us and that we're not restricted by any foreign policy considerations," Kissinger said in the White House driveway after his appointment. "We are under no restrictions, and we would accept no restrictions."

Asked if he expected Bush himself to testify before the panel, Kissinger said, "One doesn't start with the president of the United States, and so I don't want to make a judgment until we have all the facts, until we have other commissioners. But it will be done on an agreed basis within the commission."

But Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat who was a leading advocate of the panel, said he expected the commission to take testimony from the current and former presidents along with other high officials "in pursuit of the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

Still, the commission faces a difficult task. Despite the enormous scope of inquiry, only $3 million has initially been allocated to cover its costs. And though Kissinger promised a "nonpartisan" inquiry, the commission is equally divided between Democrats and Republicans and its report is due to be issued in the middle of a presidential election year.

Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has raised concerns voiced privately by other legislators that the panel would become "a blame game commission" and was being supported by "people here [in Congress] that want to try and find blame within the government, whether it is in the CIA or the FBI or within the administration." Added LaHood: "To try and get 10 people from the outside to come in and understand all of this in such a short period of time I think holds out a very big false hope."

Much will depend on the composition of the panel; legislators have until Dec. 15 to name the other eight members. The commission, with five Democratic and five GOP appointments, will generally need six votes to issue subpoenas, raising the possibility of partisan deadlock. To minimize that danger, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who were selected by the victims' families because they favor an aggressive inquiry, will have power to approve one of the GOP members.

Other names that have been mentioned as possible commission members are former Sens. Warren Rudman, R-N.H., and Gary Hart, D-Colo., former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., and retiring Rep. Tim Roemer, D-Ind., and Eleanor Hill, staff director of the joint congressional inquiry. Other possibilities face opposition from victims' family groups because of ties to businesses and other entities that might be probed by the commission.

Some family members were at Wednesday's White House signing ceremony and were recognized by Bush who told them, "There's a lot of people continuing to pray for you ... in working for this commission, you've been motivated by a noble goal -- you want to spare the Americans the kind of suffering you faced."

Kissinger met with the group before the signing and pledged to meet with them once a month and assign a staff member to work with them full time.

"The appointment of Dr. Kissinger indicates the White House is taking this very seriously," said Stephen Push, treasurer of Families of Sept. 11. "This is a good start."